Surprise of Fireworks Causes Tremors of Fear Around Tribeca A fireworks show over the Hudson River last month got an explosive reaction in Tribeca. The spectacular five-minute display on Sept. 24, capping a night of celebration on Tribeca’s Pier 25, sent sidewalk diners jumping to their feet, had evening strollers looking fearfully skyward, and left many residents wondering whether Lower Manhattan was again under attack. For nearby Independence Plaza residents, the concussive booms were especially terrifying for those who could not see the source of the noise. “It felt crass, demonic, unnatural and more than anything else insensitive,” said Jacqueline Leak, who was on Greenwich Street with her 10-year-old daughter when the display began. “I couldn’t believe this was happening without our neighborhood knowing about it.” “My heart was still pounding when I finally fell asleep around 3 a.m.,” Barbara Moss, a Hudson Street resident, wrote to the Trib. The fireworks, which were launched from a barge near the pier, were part of a party thrown for 900 guests by New York Water Taxi to celebrate the launch of their new service. “Should we have informed people more? Yes. It was not meant to be insensitive,” said Tom Fox, the president of the company. Fox said he received all necessary approvals, the primary one coming from the Coast Guard. Community Board 1 assistant district manager Judy Duffy, who attended the party, said her office got numerous complaints. “Residents were supposed to have been notified by Mr. Fox,” said Duffy. “I asked him to do that.” But Duffy called the fireworks “the tip of the iceberg” among recent disruptive special events in Lower Manhattan, such as large-scale bike and foot races that take place without consultation or prior warning. City officials, she said, “just assume that this stuff is good for us.” But Duffy said the number of complaints the mayor’s office received may make a difference. “It’s kind of like hitting a mule on the head with a 2 by 4,” she said. “We got his attention now.” Fox said the irate reaction was anything but what he intended. “I thought [the fireworks] were a symbol of New York resurgence,” he said. “But apparently it wasn’t taken that way and I apologize.”